Malawi

Food shortages and famine throughout Africa have posed significant threats to political and social stability. In the late 1990s, Malawians watched as insufficient rains and price fluctuations made staple crops such as maize less and less appealing to farmers for cultivation. Malawi's government invited The Carter Center to help avert disaster by assisting with agricultural development programs to stave off the worst effects of drought and prevent a food crisis.

Fighting Disease

The Carter Center began working in partnership with the Malawian Ministry of Agriculture to improve food security in 1999. Huge swings in Malawi's maize prices have been a major disincentive for farmers to invest in maize production, the country's staple food crop. The African food crisis in 2002, worsened by the drought that hit southern Africa, was partly to blame for this price fluctuation, and price swings have continued.

Read full text on the Carter Center's health work in Malawi>